


I Knew I Loved You

by mocking_words



Series: 12 Days of Romanogers (Christmas 2016) [12]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, christmas day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:23:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mocking_words/pseuds/mocking_words
Summary: Steve builds a personal library for Natasha with James





	

**Author's Note:**

> solnyshko - sun

It had started when he first met her. All those years ago when he was first fished out from the ice? He had always known that Natasha Romanoff was going to mean something to him. He hadn’t had the slightest clue who she was or why he was so mesmerised by those green eyes of hers but he was hooked from the very first sight.

The people, from S.H.I.E.L.D, had been nothing but courteous to him and the environment he found himself in was unfamiliar. Natasha hadn’t missed a beat. He figured she wouldn’t have been too happy about being labelled as a babysitter, not that he needed or thought of her as one, but if she was truly distressed by it, she didn’t show. She had helped him find his footing in the modern world and now he was handling it like a pro. They had become partners-in-crime by then, so in sync with each other that even a simple glance had him grinning from a shared inside joke. He had found a comfort with her and the other Avengers; they were a mix-and-match of people that happened to fit like puzzle pieces and Steve finally realised how it felt to be surrounded by people he trusted.

He had thought Natasha felt the same way. He was right, but she had spent far too long being independent to lean on him. Even so, a Chitauri invasion, an Ultron attack and a civil war later, he was still intrigued by her. They ended up going out and getting married all in the same year but he was still as infatuated with her as he was all those years ago.  
James had been an unexpected addition to their family but they loved him so much it was honestly unbearable to leave him when they had to go on missions. It was a risky job, he might never come home one day and someone would have to explain it to his son that his father had perished in the line of duty. He couldn’t imagine having his sweet boy going through that.

Things had changed for the better but the only thing that hadn’t changed was his love for Natasha Romanoff. He had found her in his apartment one day reading a tattered paperback novel and he supposed that was how their love affair started. She loved to read and more often than not, he would find her burying her nose into a book, not speaking for hours on end, only to curl up in bed next to him with a blank expression on her face. She was anything but sentimental, but she had learnt that it was okay to let her guard down with him. Perhaps her favourite hero had died, he didn’t know and she never spoke about it, but she would be fine the next day, tucking the book back into its place in his room. The books were hers but she left so many of her personal items in his house that he hadn’t minded it at all.  
He started buying books then, whenever he had the chance or whenever something caught his eye. He told himself that it was to keep her occupied whenever she stayed over but after they had gotten married, he continued the practice. He was beginning to realise why he had done so for so many years.

* * *

He and James had started the project some weeks ago, continuing on and off whenever they got the chance to. He’d gotten a contact from Pepper who was willing to help build a custom floor-to-ceiling shelf that fit in the spare room of their house. James’ had picked the colour of the bookshelf; a shade of white that apparently matched the light brown wood flooring while he’d started moving all the boxes from his room in Avengers' Tower just recently. They were just minor bits and pieces that Natasha wouldn’t have noticed as he brought them over. When the workers finished setting up the shelf, Steve shifted the boxes in. There were at least fifteen boxes, each fitting about fifty, a rather massive collection he’d picked up over the years actually.

“Are these all of mummy’s books?” James asked, flipping through a worn copy of Oliver Twist. He loved reading just as much as Natasha did and this present was probably as much Natasha’s as it was his.

“I’ve been buying them since I met your mum, kiddo,” Steve chuckled, “I don’t think she’s noticed.”

“You’re kidding! There’s got to be over a thousand books here!”

“I don’t know, I’ve never counted,” he admitted, looking at the pile of books on the floor, “How about we count them as we put them up?”

“Okay! How are we going to arrange them?” James asked, looking at him excitedly.

“Well, it’d be easiest by size,” Steve nodded, surverying the books that surrounded the two of them, “We’ve got time.”

The way the shelves were designed was interesting enough that they didn’t have to put in any sort of decorative items to avoid the whole thing from looking bland which made things easier for the both of them. While James arranged the books by size on the floor; he would put them up on the shelf. It didn't take long at all to finish the shelf and when they'd finished, they'd gone out for ice-cream.

Now, he'd just have to count on Natasha not going in to the room.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" James yelled, running into their room at the crack of dawn. The sun hadn't even come up yet but Steve just sat up and hugged him and he clambered on to the bed, "Merry Christmas, James."

"Good morrning and Merry Christmas to you too, _solnyshko_ ," Natasha grinned sleepily, wrapping her arms around the both of them. Steve kissed her temple, "Merry Christmas, Nat."

"Let's go eat breakfast! Then we can open presents!"

Natasha laughed, "Okay, okay."

They had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, topped with strawberries and whipped cream before sitting in the living room together to open presents. James, of course, was the first one to get there and sat down in front of the tree with Max. Before he could ask about opening any of them, though, the doorbell rang. Steve got up to answer and found the Avengers all standing in somewhat matching Christmas jumpers.

"Merry Christmas! We're here to disrupt your blissful Christmas morning!" Tony announced happily. "But we brought presents," Clint added, popping his head out from behind Tony. Wanda, Thor, Sam, Rhodes and Banner were there as well.

"I expected you to," Steve chuckled, stepping aside to let them in. "Hey Cap," Sam smirked, slapping his shoulder, "We're here to brighten up your day."

"It's definitely been brightened all right," Steve admitted, grinning. He was glad they were here, of course. Christmas was all about the company. Natasha sighed, grinning as James ran over to hug all of his uncles and aunt, "I can't believe you guys."

"Better believe it, Natasha! We are here to celebrate with you!" Thor laughed heartily, "This is a beautiful tree."

"The one at Avengers Tower is better," Tony pointed out, "Real diamonds."

"It's going to be a long morning," Steve said, letting out a sigh.

* * *

"Present time!" Rhodes said, clapping his hands together as everyone let out a cheer.  
"We've got to let the owners of the house go for it first," Sam pointed out as they were all sat around in the living room.

"Well, we can do that in a bit, but I want to give her something first," Steve said, standing up, "It's in the spare room."

Natasha, and everyone else, followed him. As soon as the door swung open, he could've sworn Natasha looked like she was in shock.

"Rogers, what the hell is this?" She asked, in disbelief. He laughed, "James and I built this, well not the shelf, but you get me. It's all for you because I know how much you love reading."

"How did you get so many books?" Natasha said, running her hand through her hair, grinning crazily. "I've been buying them since I met you," he explained, "It's like a personal book collection, truthfully."

"Daddy said you would really like it, mummy," James said, hugging her, "Do you like it?"

"I love it," she admitted, laughing to cover up the tears. He kissed her, "I love you, Merry Christmas, Nat."

"Thank you, Steve," she said, burying her face in the crook of his neck, "I love you..."

"And it looks like Cap strikes again," Sam said and Clint nodded, chuckling, "Who knew Captain America was this soppy? Who wants cake?"

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone got everything they wanted! I love you all, thank you for spending time to read my work x


End file.
